“It stings a little bit,” she said. “I never imagined it would be this difficult just to get a foot in the door.”

By acting like a customer, building your network, and making wise decisions about tradeoffs, recent graduates can start their careers on the best foot possible—even if the labor market is on shaky ground.

Young people graduating from college this spring and summer are facing one of the toughest job markets in more than a decade. The unemployment rate for degree-holders ages 22 to 27 has reached its highest level in a dozen years, excluding the coronavirus pandemic.